Telephone ringing generators

ABSTRACT

A single channel carrier system for telephone service is disclosed including a remote terminal having a battery charger for charging a battery during idle periods to power the remote carrier electronics. The remote electronics include a ringing generator and supervisory circuits to implement normal telephone supervision over the carrier channel. 
     The ringing generator is a DC-to-DC converter for stepping the battery voltage up to ringing voltage level. This high unipolar ringing voltage is then interrupted at a 20 Hz rate during the ringing portion of the ringing cycle. Simple diodes serve to isolate the unipolar ringing signals from other portions of the circuit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to subscriber loop carrier telepone systems and, more particularly, to electronic ringing generators for providing ringing signals in such systems.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In carrier-derived telephone circuits it is necessary to provide both a means of signaling the need for ringing signals to a remote subscriber and also to provide a source of ringing signals to be applied to the subscriber's line. In single channel carrier systems such as that disclosed in L. Krasin U.S. Pat. No. 3,471,650, granted Oct. 7, 1969, the need for ringing signals is transmitted by applying the carrier signal to the line and interrupting it at a 20 Hz rate. The signal can then be used at the remote terminal to both indicate the need for ringing and as a control signal to aid in the generation of the ringing signal.

Several problems arise in remotely located telephone ringing signal generators. It is difficult, for example, to design oscillators and amplifiers to operate at such a low frequency rate and deliver the required high ringing voltage. Moreover, ringing power requirements tend to be high in order to operate the mechanical portions of a telephone ringer. The power required for these signals constitues a considerable load on a remote battery and, moreover, must be carefully isolated from the talking circuits when ringing is not ocurring to prevent undue loading on the talking path. It is also necessary to detect ring tripping, i.e., the need to terminate ringing when the subscriber goes off-hook.

In many ringing signal generators, a direct-current converter circuit is utilized to generate a high DC ringing voltage from a low voltage battery. Ringing signals are generated from this high DC voltage by interrupting the voltage at a 20 Hz rate and interrupting the 20 Hz signal during the silent intervals of the ringing cycle. Many problems arise in attempts to interrupt this high voltage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, either the 20 Hz interruptions or the silent interval interruptions are accomplished by switching the converter's oscillator on and off and thus affording a control of the ringing signal at a very low voltage level. This low level control reduces the complexity of the switching components.

In accordance with one feature of the present invention, the high ringing voltage can be switched at a 20 Hz rate using two transitors for switching current flow in opposite directions, or using one transistor and a diode for this purpose. In either case, the switching is self-synchronous and separate switching control signals are not required for the two switching functions. This prevents inadvertent overlap in switching cycles and the resulting loss of power.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the unipolar character of the ringing signal permits isolation of the ringing generator simply by using a breakdown device, the threshold of which is lower than the ringing voltage yet higher than the normal talking voltage. The unidirectional ringing signal further permits switchhook supervisory circuits to be isolated from the talking path during ringing with a simple diode.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a general block diagram of a single channel carrier system of a type in which the present invention may find use;

FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of the remote carrier terminal of the system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a detailed circuit diagram of a battery charger circuit suitable for use in the remote carrier terminal of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a detailed circuit diagram of an oscillator circuit suitable for use in the battery charger of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a detailed circuit diagram of a ringing oscillator circuit useful in a remote carrier terminal of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a detailed circuit diagram of a ringing envelope detector circuit suitable for use in the ringing oscillator of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a detailed circuit diagram of a power switch useful in the remote carrier terminal of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a detailed circuit of the diagram of a ringing amplifier circuit suitable for use with the ringing oscillator circuit of FIG. 5 in the remote carrier terminal of FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is a detailed circuit diagram of a ringing output circuit suitable for use with the ringing amplifier circuit of FIG. 8 in the remote carrier terminal of FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a detailed circuit diagram of a switchhook detector circuit suitable for use in the remote carrier terminal of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 11 is a detailed circuit diagram of an alternative ringing output circuit which could be used instead of FIG. 9 and which uses two transistors to switch the ringing voltage.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a general block diagram of a single-channel carrier system. At the central office of the system a subscriber line appearance 10 is provided for a pair of metallic conductors 15 extending to a telephone subscriber at a remote location and appearing on conductors 11. In accordance with normal usage, telephone service is extended from the central office to the remote subscriber by means of a twisted pair of conductors 15 terminating at appearances 10 and 11.

Two subscribers can be accommodated on this single pair of conductors by utilizing standard analog carrier techniques. Thus, a second appearance 12 in the central office can be provided using a central office carrier terminal 13 and a remote carrier terminal 14 coupled to the metallic conductors 15. The second subscriber can be connected to conductors 16. Terminals 13 and 14 modulate and demodulate the voice signals into and out of a frequency band outside of the voice frequency range. Low-pass filters 17 and 18 block these carrier signals from the first subscriber's voice path extending from appearance 10 to conductors 11 via the same pair 15.

In order to accommodate a telephone subscriber at conductors 16 it is necessary to transmit between the central office and the second subscriber not only voice signals but also all of the required supervisory signals normally associated with telephone service. Thus, switchhook supervision, ringing, ring trip, and dial pulsing must all be accomplished over the carrier channel. This is done by utilizing the carrier itself as a signaling wave. This carrier can be interrupted at dial pulse or ringing rates and can be turned off and on to transmit switchhook supervision and ringing indications.

In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a remote carrier terminal is disclosed in block form in FIG. 2. The terminal in FIG. 2 comprises a hybrid 21 for splitting voice signals on line 16 into two paths for the opposite directions of transmission. A carrier transmitter 22 and a compressor 20 are connected between hybrid 21 and loop 15 for compressing and modulating voice frequencies in one direction onto a high frequency carrier (for example, 28 kHz). A carrier receiver 23 and an expandor 24 are also connected between loop 15 and hybrid 21 for demodulating and expanding voice signals from a different carrier frequency (for example, 76 kHz) in the other direction. Hybrid 21 is connected to metallic conductors 16 extending to a local subscriber telephone set. The balance of the circuits of FIG. 2 are used to provide the necessary supervisory signaling to supervise the establishment, utilization, and termination of the talking path. A suitable compressor and expandor are shown in R. Toumani U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,654, granted Nov. 11, 1975.

A suitable transmitter and receiver are shown in the copending application of T. N. Rao and R. Toumani Ser. No. 638,152, filed of even date herewith.

In order to accommodate a carrier-derived channel on the longest possible telephone subscriber loops, it is desirable that the remote electronics have power available in addition to that received from the central office over the metallic loop. Longer loops having a higher resistance cannot carry adequate current to power the remote electronics with normal line voltages and still provide a sufficiently high voltage to permit efficient talking. Higher voltages applied at the central office, on the other hand, must be specially provided and present distinct hazards to personnel utilizing and maintaining equipment on the telephone lines. A solution to this problem is a rechargeable battery used to power the remote electronics but which may be recharged from the telephone line during periods when the line is not being used to provide telephone service.

To power the remote electronics, a battery charger 25 is provided which is driven by a charger oscillator 26. In accordance with well-known power supply techniques, charger 25 and oscillator 26 comprise a dc-to-dc converter for charging a battery which is used to power the remainder of the circuit in FIG. 2. A line interface circuit 33 protects charger 25 from transients on loop 15 and presents high impedance to loop 15.

Carrier signals detected by carrier receiver 23 are supplied to envelope detector 28, which, after a delay, intermittently enables ringing oscillator 27. Oscillator 27 supplies an interrupted high frequency signal to ringing amplifier 29 (interrupted at a 20 Hz rate). After amplification, the interrupted signal is utilized by a ringing output circuit 30 to supply a high voltage square wave ringing signal of 20 Hz to subscriber line 16. A switchhook detector 31 detects when the local subscriber goes off-hook and, at that time, blocks the high frequency signal from ringing amplifier 29 and enables a power switch 32 to apply power to the balance of receiver 23, transmitter 22, compressor 20 and expandor 24. It will be noted that a portion of carrier receiver 23 must be powered at all times in order to detect the appearance of a carrier signal from the central office. The demodulation and audio portions of the carrier receiver, however, need be energized only after the supervisory signaling is complete and voice transmission is required.

Boxes 25 through 33 in FIG. 2 each include a numeral in parentheses. The numerals correspond to Figure numbers in which are found detailed circuit diagrams of the corresponding portions of the remote carrier terminal. These detailed drawings will now be taken up in order.

In FIG. 3, there is shown a battery charger suitable for charger 25 in FIG. 2. The battery charger of FIG. 3 is operated from the central office battery by way of conductors 41 and 42 and includes an interface circuit 40. Interface circuit 40 includes a pair of resistors R51 and R52 to ensure a high impedance loading across conductors 41 and 42. Capacitor C1 serves as a filter for high frequency charging components to prevent these signals from being transmitted on conductors 41 and 42. Diodes D14, D15, D16, and D17 are connected in a bridge circuit and serve as a polarity guard to ensure that voltages delivered to the balance of the circuit are poled in a direction such that the upper conductor 43 is at a positive voltage with respect to the lower conductor 44.

The battery charger of FIG. 3 is a switching regulator whose drive is obtained from oscillator 45 which will be discussed in detail in connection with FIG. 4. Pulses of current drawn by oscillator 45 through resistors R4 and R5 serve to alternately cut off and saturate transistor Q9. When transistor Q9 is ON, current flows from conductor 43 through transistor Q9 and inductor L1 to charge battery V_(s). When transistor Q9 is cut OFF, inductor L1 maintains a current flow through diode D4 to continue charging battery V_(s). Capacitor C1 filters out the switching transients caused by the intermittent operation of transistor Q9. Zener diode D13 protects transistor Q9 by limiting transient voltages caused by lightning surges or ringing signals on the telephone line to a voltage level which transistor Q9 can sustain. In addition, should battery V_(s) become completely discharged to that charger oscillator 45 cannot operate, diode D13 serves to trickle charge battery V_(s) from the telephone line.

The voltage presented at terminals 46 operates the balance of the electronic circuitry at the remote carrier terminal shown in block form in FIG. 2. This voltage is much less than the central office voltage and is normally in a range between 17 and 29 volts.

The battery charger of FIG. 3 is designed to draw about 3 milliamperes from the telephone line and deliver 6 milliamperes to charge battery V_(s). Resistors R51 and R52 are chosen such that the voltage drop across the charger is about 24 volts, one-half of the line voltage. This ensures maximum power transfer to the battery charger.

If faster charging times are required, the values of resistors R51 and R52 can be reduced. It is desirable under these conditions to make the charger a constant current device rather than a constant voltage device. A current detector comprising transistor 51 and resistor 50 is therefore provided to control oscillator 45. Moreover, it may be desirable to disconnect the battery charger entirely to perform tests such as leakage tests during which the charge current would mask true leakage currents. A more complex interface circuit is necessary for this arrangement and one such interface circuit will be discussed in connection with FIG. 11.

The charger oscillator is shown in detailed circuit form in FIG. 4. This circuit, like the remaining circuits of the drawings, is operated by the battery V_(s) in FIG. 3. The circuit is integrated, permitting transistors Q1 and Q2 to be matched. The collector and base of transistor Q2 are connected together to provide a diode having a fixed voltage drop between the emitter and common terminals. The matching of transistors Q1 and Q2 allows the current in transistor Q1 to be set by the current developed in transistor Q2 by resistor R6. The transistors Q3 and Q4 switch the current in transistor Q1, thereby switching transistor Q5. When transistor Q5 is OFF, transistor Q7 is ON, causing capacitor C2 to charge. When capacitor C2 reaches the proper voltage, transistor Q4 is turned OFF, thus switching transistor Q3 and hence transistor Q5 ON. Transistor Q5 turning ON turns OFF transistor Q7 and allows capacitor C2 to discharge through transistor Q8. When capacitor C2 discharges sufficiently, transistor Q4 again turns ON, initiating a new cycle. In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 4, the frequency of this cycle is about 50 kHz.

The frequency and duty cycle of the oscillator of FIG. 4 is under the control of capacitor C2, resistor R11, and the bias voltage at the base of transistor Q3. A control on the duty cycle is afforded by feedback current introduced by resistor 50 and transistor 51 (FIG. 3) through which the output current is sampled. Transistor 51 detects this output current and causes an adjustment in the bias voltage at the base of transistor Q3. This bias voltage adjustment shifts the duty cycle just sufficiently to keep the current drawn by the battery charger of FIG. 3 constant. The battery charger therefore draws a constant current determined by the value of resistor 50. When the value of resistor 50 is zero, the circuit is voltage-controlled and is suitable for the arrangement of FIG. 3.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 5, there is shown a detailed circuit diagram of a ringing oscillator suitable for use as oscillator 27 in FIG. 2. The oscillator of FIG. 5 comprises a differential pair of transistors Q19 and Q20 serving as the active elements of the oscillator. Their emitters are connected together through resistor R24 and transistors Q18 and Q11 to -V_(s). Transistors Q18 and Q11 each serve as a switch preventing the operation of the oscillator until both of these transistors are turned on.

The ringing oscillator of FIG. 5 is designed to be turned on and off in response to the presence and absence of a carrier signal received at the remote terminal. The carrier interruptions take place at a 20 Hz rate in accordance with standard ringing practice. These interrupted carrier signals are processed and supplied from the carrier receiver 23 (FIG. 2) to terminal 60 of FIG. 5. These processed carrier signals are filtered by capacitor C8 and the voltage thus derived is supplied across the voltage divider made up of resistors R10 and R13 to the base of transistor Q11. The presence of a carrier signal at terminal 60 therefore turns transistor Q11 ON to provide a signal to the base of transistor Q12. When thus enabled, transistor Q12 enables the biasing circuit for transistor Q20 comprising resistors R26 and R28. At the same time, a signal is provided from the collector of transistor Q12 to envelope detector 61 to be described in detail in connection with FIG. 6. Detector circuit 61 inserts a delay before supplying a signal through resistor R23 to the base of transistor Q18. This delay ensures that random bursts of noise at terminal 60 are not inadvertently interpreted as ringing signals. Thus, transistors Q19 and Q20 are enabled only if a carrier signal is present and remains present beyond the delay period of delay circuit 61 to simultaneously enable transistors Q11 and Q18. Transistor Q12 blocks the biasing circuit for transistor Q20 when the oscillator is not in use, thus conserving power during the idle state.

The collector of transistor Q20 is connected to the base of transistor Q21 to turn the latter transistor ON. When thus turned ON, transistor Q21 also turns ON transistor Q22. The voltage at output lead 62 is connected through resistors R33 and R27 to the respective bases of transistors Q19 and Q20. Capacitor C5 combined with resistor R33 provides the timing elements for the oscillator to set the oscillator frequency well above the audio range, e.g., 100 kHz.

In FIG. 6 there is shown a detailed circuit diagram of a ringing signal envelope detector circuit suitable for the detector circuit 28 in FIG. 2 and the detector circuit 61 in FIG. 5. Signals from the collector of transistor Q12 in FIG. 5 are connected to the base of transistor Q13. When thus turned ON at a 20 Hz rate, Q13 supplies voltage through resistors R16 and R18 to charge capacitor C3. Resistor R17 provides a slow discharge path for capacitor C3 when transistor Q13 is no longer enabled.

Diode 72 provides a threshold voltage which is exceeded when the charge on capacitor C3 reaches the necessary threshold. When diode 72 conducts, a very large capacitor 71 is placed in parallel with capacitor C3 to reduce the rate of voltage buildup. Resistor 73 is of a very high value to provide a long time constant (e.g., 10 seconds) in the discharge path of capacitor 71. Diode 72 prevents capacitor 71 from discharging at the faster rate (e.g., 100-150 milliseconds) for capacitor C3.

As a result of the presence of capacitor 71, the rate at which charge can build up on capacitor C3 is slowed considerably, but only for the initial ringing cycle. Once capacitor 71 becomes fully charged, it holds this charge throughout the current ringing sequence. Due to diode 72, capacitor 71 is therefore effectively out of the circuit after it charged on the first ringing cycle. This provides a very large margin against false ringing on the first cycle, yet permits subsequent ringing cycles to be tracked relatively closely.

When sufficient charge builds up on capacitor C3, transistor Q16 is enabled which, in turn, enables transistors Q15 and Q17. An output signal is thus provided on output lead 70 to enable the ringing oscillator (FIG. 5) and disable the power switch (FIG. 7) a time delay period (e.g., 25-150 ms) after the application of 20 Hz signals to the base of transistor Q13. This provides a delay in reacting to all inputs and therefore provides immunity against transient noise inputs. A second output is taken from the junction of resistors R22 and R54 to block switchhook detection (FIG. 9) until the time delay set by the discharge of capacitor C3. A third output from the emitter of transistor Q17 enables the ringing output circuit by providing a base bias current to transistor Q39 (FIG. 9).

The emitter of transistor Q16 is connected through resistor R21 and transistor Q6 to the negative voltage level -V_(s). Transistor Q6 has its base connected to its collector to provide a diode action having a significant voltage threshold. This voltage threshold must be overcome before transistor Q16 can be turned ON by the voltage on capacitor C3. Once transistor Q16 is turned ON, however, the signal at output lead 70 is connected through resistor R14 to the base of transistor Q10. Transistor Q10 operates as a switch to short out the diode element formed by transistor Q6. The voltage necessary to enable transistor Q16 therefore drops substantially (by the threshold voltage of diode Q6) and thus the voltage on capacitor C3 must discharge to this lower level before transistor Q16 is disabled. By means of this technique, a certain amount of hysteresis is introduced in the delay function so that even immediately after enabling the ringing generator there is some immunity to spurious ring-trip pulses. This immunity arises from the necessity to discharge capacitor C3 to the lower voltage before ring-trip can disable the ringing oscillator.

A transistor Q14 is provided to serve as a switch to disable the timing circuit. When enabled by a signal from the power switch of FIG. 7 through resistor R19, transistor Q14 shorts out the charging path for capacitor C3 and prevents transistor Q16 from ever being turned ON. If transistor Q16 is already ON, C3 discharges through resistor R18 and transistor Q14 until Q16 is turned OFF. The signal to the base of transistor Q14 is provided in response to the detection of an off-hook condition (FIG. 7) and thus removes ringing signals when the subscriber goes off-hook. The ring-trip function is supplied locally at the remote terminal through this circuit arrangement. This ringing control circuitry is claimed in the copending application of B. S. Bosik and D. E. Stone (Case 2-1), Ser. No. 638,163, filed of even date herewith.

In FIG. 7 there is shown a power switch circuit which supplies battery power to the carrier transmitter 22 and carrier receiver 23 in FIG. 2. The carrier detector portion of the carrier receiver 23 is continually powered to permit the detection of the carrier signal indicating the need to generate ringing signals. The rest of the carrier receiver 23 and the carrier transmitter 22, however, need not be powered until the local subscriber lifts his handset either to initiate a telephone call or in response to a ringing signal. Considerable power can be conserved by powering these circuits only when they are required for active telephone service.

The power switch of FIG. 7 comprises transistors Q33 and Q36 and resistors R40, R41 and R42. When the switchhook detector (FIG. 10) detects an off-hook condition, a positive voltage is sent to the power switch on lead 80, biasing the base of transistor Q33 high so long as transistor Q36 is not conducting. Transistor Q33 then connects the negative power leads of the switched parts of the carrier electronics (20, 22, 23 and 24 in FIG. 2) to the -V_(s) terminal via lead 81. Should the envelope detector have just detected carrier signals from the central office indicating ringing, it will hold lead 82 high and cause transistor Q36 to conduct. This action prevents transistor Q33 from conducting during ringing due to noise. Legitimate switchhook detection, after a time delay, forces the envelope detector output on lead 82 low and allows the power switch to operate. During customer originated calls, the lead 82 is never high and switchhook detection switches on the electronics via transistor Q33 immediately.

In FIG. 8 there is shown a detailed circuit diagram of the ringing amplifier shown in block form as ringing amplifier 29 in FIG. 2. The ringing amplifier comprises a cascade of transistor amplifiers Q30, Q31, and Q32. The amplifier is used to raise the power level of the signals from the ringing oscillator of FIG. 5 delivered through lead 92 and resistor R35 to the base of transistor Q30.

Resistor 94 and transistor Q29 comprise a voltage regulator. Transistor Q29 has its emitter-collector path connected across the base-emitter path of transistor Q30. A high voltage on lead 90 causes transistor Q29 to conduct, blocking transistor Q30 from conducting. The output of the ringing oscillator (FIG. 5) on lead 92 is thereby prevented from being amplified. The ringing voltage therefore decays until it is again within the desired voltage limit. The base of transistor Q29 then goes low to enable transistor Q30 and allow the oscillator output to be amplified. This technique is used to voltage limit the ringing signal in response to a dynamic comparison of the ringing voltage with a reference voltage as will be described in connection with FIG. 10.

A signal from the ringing oscillator of FIG. 5 is supplied by way of lead 91 to the base of transistor Q41. The collector-emitter path of transistor Q41 thereby shorts out bias resistor R37 in synchronism with the removal of ringing oscillator signals on lead 92. This insures a fast turn-OFF time for PNP transistor Q31 to keep sharp edges on the high frequency pulses.

In FIG. 9 there is shown a detailed circuit diagram of a ringing output circuit suitable for output circuit 30 in FIG. 2. It comprises a transistor amplifier Q37 driven by amplified ringer oscillator signals on lead 93. When operated by a signal on base lead 93, transistor Q37 operates power transistor Q38 to draw a pulse of current through primary winding 100 of transformer T2. The current pulse establishes a flux in transformer T2 as well as a larger voltage across the secondary winding 101 of transformer T2. This secondary voltage reverse biases diode D7-11 so that no secondary current flows. When transistor Q38 turns OFF, the induced voltage in secondary winding 101 forward biases diode D7-11 to charge capacitor C6. This action is repetitive to keep capacitor C6 charged up to the ringing voltage even while ringing current is drawn by loop 102.

Since the ringing oscillator of FIG. 5 is enabled and disabled at 20 Hz the voltage on capacitor C6 builds up in short pulses to the higher voltage (e.g., 175 volts). As this voltage builds up across capacitor C6, current is delivered through diode D2 and leads 102 to the local subscriber's ringer. The return path for this current includes diode D12. Transistor Q39 is therefore held in a cutoff condition due to the reverse biasing of its base-emitter junction, so long as the ringing current exceeds the current supplied via lead 103 from the envelope detector of FIG. 6.

When the current supplied to loop 102 falls below that supplied on lead 103, transistor Q39 turns ON, to provide a reverse current path for ringing signals. When the high frequency pulses to transformer T2 cease (due to disablement of the ringing oscillator in FIG. 5), capacitor C6 discharges at a rate essentially equal to the ratio of C6 and the current supplied by lead 103. Together transistor Q39 and capacitor C6 form a "Miller integrator" to render the discharge rate of capacitor C6 essentially linear during the portion of the cycle. This limits the magnitude of the ringing transients which might otherwise be generated in the local subscriber's loop. Capacitor C6 discharges through transistor Q39, saturating transistor Q39. When capacitor C6 is fully discharged, the current on lead 103 from FIG. 6 continues to flow. Instead of discharging capacitor C6, this current flows through the base-emitter junction of transistor Q39, continuing to keep transistor Q39 saturated. Transistor Q39 therefore remains saturated throughout the OFF half-cycle of the 20 Hz ringing cycle, providing a path for negative load current. This ringing output circuit is claimed in the copending application of D. E. Stone (Case 2), Ser. No. 638,162, filed of even date herewith.

Diodes D1 and D5 are connected across the primary winding 100 of transformer T2 to limit the transient voltage across this winding in order to protect transistor Q38 from excessive collector-emitter voltages. A resistor 104 senses the current delivered to the primary winding 100 and, should this current exceed a preselected threshold, the base-emitter junction of transistor Q40 is forward biased and a current is delivered by its collector to the ringing oscillator of FIG. 5. This current rapidly charges capacitor C5 and turns the ringing oscillator OFF for the balance of the high frequency cycle. This action dynamically limits the peak current of the ringing signal, preventing saturation of transformer T2 and preventing exceeding the current rating of transistor Q38.

It can be seen that the output ringing signal is both voltage and current limited on a dynamic peak basis. Voltage limitation was described in connection with FIG. 7. Current limitation takes place via resistor 104 and transistor Q40. Together, these two arrangements ensure protection of the current components and the avoidance of extreme ringing transients.

A voltage divider including resistors R30 and R31 delivers an indication of instantaneous ringing voltage to lead 151. This signal is used to control voltage limiting of the ringing signal as well as described in connection with FIG. 10. A zener diode D2 connects the ringing signal to the subscriber loop 102. Since diode D2 breaks down only in the presence of ringing voltages, it operates to isolate the ringing source from the talking circuit in the absence of ringing. The ringing signals are unipolar, swinging between a high positive voltage and a low positive voltage.

In FIG. 10 there is shown a switchhook and ring-trip detector connected to the local telephone loop 150 and including a comparator 156 and a switchhook signal level detector 152. Comparator 156 takes one input on lead 151 from the voltage divider including resistors R30 and R31, described in detail in connection with FIG. 9. A reference signal is developed by transistors Q25, Q26, and Q27, transistors Q25 and Q26 being connected in normal diode arrangements and transistor Q27 being connected as a zener diode. When the voltage on lead 151 exceeds that on the base of transistor Q28, transistor Q28 turns ON and a signal is provided, via lead 154, to FIG. 8 to turn transistor Q29 ON as previously described. This provides voltage regulation of the ringing supply output.

The switchhook detector 152 comprises a transistor Q42 and diode D18. The signal on lead 151 follows the 20 Hz ringing signal and therefore is high during most of the positive half of the ringing cycle. The base of transistor Q42 is connected via diode D18 to the output of the ringing amplifier in FIG. 8. The base therefore goes high with the ringing oscillator signal. With its emitter high and its base intermittently high or low, transistor Q42 remains OFF. Once the customer goes off-hook, the additional loading on the loop 102 (FIG. 9) prevents it from holding lead 151 high. Q42 then conducts on each positive pulse of the high frequency oscillator to its base through diode D18. In so doing it conducts current from the switchhook level detector network 152 and delivers a switchhook detection signal to the power switch of FIG. 7 on lead 158.

The switchhook level detector consists of a resistor-diode network 152 consisting of resistors R47 and 159 and diode D3 to give a desired voltage versus current characteristic. Also included are transistors Q35 and Q34, capacitor C7 and resistor R39. When loop current is drawn initially through network 152, the voltage across the base-emitter junction of transistor Q35 is too small to turn transistor Q35 ON. At a prescribed current, transistor Q35 and then transistor Q34 turns ON to supply a switchhook indication. Capacitor C7 filters and stretches this switchhook detection signal to make the ring-trip detection appear continuous.

The switchhook detector supplies a signal to the envelope detector of FIG. 6 to block the ringing voltage generation (transistor Q14). It also supplies a signal to the power switch (lead 80) to turn the electronics on when the envelope detector is not providing a high output signal.

As discussed in connection with FIGS. 2 and 3, the battery charger can be arranged as a constant voltage device or as a constant current device depending on the value of resistor 50 in FIG. 4. Used as a constant voltage device, the value of resistor 50 is made zero and maximum power transfer takes place for fixed values of resistors R51 and R52 in FIG. 3. Resistors R51 and R52 are selected to provide a substantial bridging impedance and allow the use of the simple interface circuit in FIG. 3.

In FIG. 11 there is shown a detailed circuit diagram of an alternative ringing output circuit which can be substituted for the ringing output circuit of FIG. 9. In FIG. 11 a ringing oscillator and ringing amplifier are shown at 200, including circuits similar to those of FIGS. 5 and 8. Transistor Q51 operates as a switch to connect circuits 200 between the terminals marked +V_(s) and -V_(s) and thus enabling these circuits.

Transistor Q51 is operated by signals on terminal 202 applied through resistor 201 to the base of transistor Q51. Transistor Q51 can be operated in the same manner as transistor Q18 in FIG. 5 after the detection of ringing signals. The output signals of oscillator-amplifier 200 are applied to transformer T51 which steps up the voltage to the value required to operate a subscriber ringer circuit (i.e., 175 volts). This voltage is applied through diode CR51 to charge capacitor C51 in short bursts and to maintain the voltage on capacitor C51 at the desired ringing value.

The positive voltage on capacitor C51 is converted to a ringing signal by the switching operation of transistors Q52 and Q53. Transistor Q52 is operated by signals on terminal 203 applied through a voltage divider comprising resistors 204 and 205 to the base of transistor Q52. The signal applied to terminal 203 is a pulse stream having the waveform shown at 205, comprising a 2-second stream of pulses at a 20 Hz rate interrupted for a 4-second silent interval. This waveform is derived as shown in FIG. 5 by detecting the envelope of the received carrier wave.

Resistor 206 is connected between base and collector electrodes of transistor Q53 while a diode CR52 is connected between base and emitter electrodes of transistor Q53. A voltage divider comprising resistors 207 and 208 is connected across the output of the ringing output signal and provides a signal on lead 209 to regulate the peak voltage generated in oscillator-amplifier 200. This corresponds to the signal on lead 151 in FIGS. 9 and 10. A zener diode CR53 connects the ringing signals to subscriber terminals 210 and 211. An offhook detector 212, similar to that found in FIG. 10, is connected through diode CR54 to terminal 210. Diode CR54 corresponds to diode D6 in FIG. 10 and serves to isolate the off-hook detector 210 from the ringing signals.

As previously described, the 20 Hz ringing signal at the central office is ON for 2 seconds and OFF for four seconds. This ringing signal is used to key the central office carrier circuits ON and OFF. At the remote terminals this carrier is detected at the receiver to reproduce the 20 Hz signal 205 shown in FIG. 11. This signal is used to operate the ringing generator.

First, the envelope of this ringing signal is detected in the envelope detector of FIG. 6 and supplied to terminal 202 to turn transistor Q51 ON and OFF at the 2-second, 4-second rate. Oscillator-amplifier 200 generates a high frequency (50 kHz) signal which is up-converted by transformer T51. The high voltage, high frequency signal at the secondary of transformer T51 is rectified by diode CR51 and filtered by capacitor C51. A high voltage (175 volts) is thereby developed across capacitor C51 having a 2-second, 4-second duty cycle. During the 2-second ringing period, while the voltage across capacitor C51 is high, transistor Q52 is used as a switch operated at the 20 Hz rate. When transistor Q52 is turned OFF, transistor Q53 is turned ON by the loss developed across resistor 206 and the high ringing voltage is supplied to terminals 210 and 211, causing a current to flow to the subscriber's ringer. When transistor Q52 is turned on, transistor Q53 is turned OFF, and the voltage across terminals 210 and 211 collapses. The stored energy in the telephone ringer therefore dumps current back through diode CR53, diode CR52 and transistor Q52. The voltage across diode CR52 keeps transistor Q53 OFF.

It can be seen that the voltage delivered to terminals 210 and 211 is a high voltage, unipolar square wave alternating between a high and a low positive voltage at a 20 Hz rate. The diode CR54 is reverse biased during ringing and hence isolates the switchhook detector circuits 212 from the high voltage ringing signal.

When a customer goes off-hook, during the next half-cycle of low voltage ringing signal direct current is drawn from the battery through off-hook detector 212 and diode CR54. This current is detected by off-hook detector 212 and is used to interrupt the ringing signal as described in connection with FIGS. 10, 7, and 6.

During the idle condition when there is no ringing signal being generated, the zener diode CR53 is reverse biased and isolates the subscriber loop from the ringing generator, thereby preventing unnecessary loading of the battery during such idle periods.

It will be noted that the switching of transistor Q52 from one state to another automatically initiates the switching of transistor Q53. This ensures automatic synchronization of the series switching transistor Q53 and the shunt switching transistor Q52, thus avoiding the synchronization problem that would arise if these two switches were activated by separate control inputs.

As discussed in connection with FIG. 9, utilizing unipolar ringing signals permits a simple diode CR54 to isolate the off-hook detector during ringing and a zener diode CR53 to isolate the ringing generator during nonringing periods. By turning the oscillator-amplifier 200 OFF and ON at the two-second, four-second rate and by using a large storage capacitor C51, the peak ringing current during each 20 Hz ringing interval is averaged by capacitor C51, thus reducing the current which must be supplied by oscillator-amplifier 200.

Finally, by using a high frequency, direct current up-converter to generate the high voltage required for ringing, the arrangements of FIGS. 9 and 11 avoid bulky 20 Hz transformers which would otherwise be necessary, increasing the size and cost of the ringing generator.

It will be noted that the major difference between the ringing output circuits of FIGS. 9 and 11 lie in the fact that the 20 Hz interruptions are supplied to the oscillator in FIG. 9 and to the output circuit in FIG. 11. Contrarywise, the 2-second, 4-second interruption signal is supplied in FIG. 9 to the output circuit while in FIG. 11 it is supplied to enable the oscillator-amplifier 200. In both cases, however, one of these control signals is used to disable the oscillator-amplifier at a point where very low power signals can control the ringing output. Moreover, in both figures the signals used to control the high power ringing signal are self-synchronized and both embodiments provide unipolar ringing voltages to ease isolation requirements. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A ringing signal generator comprisinga direct current converter to provide a unipolar voltage at a magnitude to operate telephone ringers, semiconductor switching means for disabling said converter at a ringing rate, and a voltage breakdown device for blocking leakage currents through said converter when said unipolar voltage is not present.
 2. The ringing signal generator according to claim 1 whereinsaid converter includes a radio frequency oscillator, and said switching means includes means for enabling and disabling said oscillator.
 3. The ringing signal generator according to claim 1 whereinsaid switching means includes a series transistor and a shunt transistor, diode means connected across and poled oppositely to the base-emitter junction of said series transistor, means for connecting the base of said series transistor to the collector of said shunt transistor, and means for enabling and disabling said shunt transistor at said ringing rate.
 4. The ringing signal generator according to claim 1 further including a switchhook detector comprisinga subscriber loop current detector, and a diode for connecting said detector to a subscriber loop and poled to block said ringing voltage.
 5. The ringing signal generator according to claim 1 wherein said switching means comprises a transistor switch operated at a ringing signal rate.
 6. A ringing generator comprisinga step-up transformer, a source of super audible frequency signals connected to the primary winding of said transformer, a rectifier connected to the secondary circuit of said transformer, and switching means for interrupting said super audible frequency source at a ringing rate.
 7. The ringing generator according to claim 6 whereinsaid switching means is connected to enable said source of super audible frequency signals.
 8. The ringing generator according to claim 6 wherein said switching means comprisesa series and a shunt semiconductor switch connected to said rectifier, and means for applying switching control signals to said shunt switch only, whereby said series switch is automatically controlled by said shunt switch.
 9. The ringing generator according to claim 6 further comprisinga voltage breakdown device for connecting said secondary circuit to a subscriber telephone loop.
 10. The ringing generator according to claim 8 further comprisinga current detector, and diode means for connecting said current detector to said subscriber telephone loop.
 11. An excitation source for telephone ringers comprisinga direct current voltage level converter, switching means for disabling said converter at a ringing signal rate, and means for coupling said converter to said telephone ringer. 